Chute for cement truck and method of fabricating a chute for a cement truck

ABSTRACT

A chute assembly for directing cement from a cement truck is disclosed. The chute comprises an elongate chute of generally u-shaped cross section fabricated from UHMWPe and comprising an upper end and a lower end, a plurality of reinforcing rods arranged along a length of and encased within the UHMWPe, one end of each of the rods adjacent the upper end and another end of each of the rods adjacent the lower end, a pair of u-shaped collars, an upper one of the collars adjacent the upper end and a lower one of the collars adjacent the lower end, and a fastener for securing each of the collars to their respective rod ends. A method of fabrication is also disclosed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a chute for a cement truck and a methodof fabricating a chute for a cement truck. In particular, the presentinvention relates to a chute for a cement truck fabricated from UHMWPe.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/505,500 filed Feb. 21, 2017, and is a National EntryApplication of PCT applications No. PCT/CA2015/050844 filed on Sep. 3,2015 and published in English under PCT Article 21(2), which itselfclaims benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), of U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 62/045,250 filed on Sep. 3, 2014, which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prior art reveals cement truck chutes manufactured from steel andaluminium. One drawback of such prior art chutes is that due to thecorrosive and abrasive nature of the cement the chutes become quicklyworn and must be replaced. In order address this drawback the prior artdiscloses providing a liner covering the metal chute and made of amaterial which is better able to withstand the abrasive cement such asUHMWPe. These liners have the drawback that they are typically rivetedto the chute and therefore quickly become dislodged thereby exposing themetal chute.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to address the drawbacks of the prior art, there is disclosed achute assembly for directing cement from a cement truck. The assemblycomprises an elongate chute of generally u-shaped cross sectionfabricated from UHMWPe and comprising an upper end and a lower end, aplurality of reinforcing rods arranged along a length of and encasedwithin the UHMWPe, one end of each of the rods adjacent the upper endand another end of each of the rods adjacent the lower end, a pair ofu-shaped collars, an upper one of the collars adjacent the upper end anda lower one of the collars adjacent the lower end, and a fastener forsecuring each of the collars to their respective rod ends.

There is also disclosed a method for fabricating a chute for directingcement from a cement truck. The method comprises placing a plurality ofreinforcing rods generally in parallel in a mould with a powderedUHMWPe, wherein each end of the rods is adjacent a respective edge ofthe mould, closing the mould and applying heat to the mould until theUHMWPe is molten, removing the UHMWPe and reinforcing rods from themould once the UHMWPe has solidified, arranging a u shaped collar ateach end of the chute, each of the collars having a curvature configuredto match that of the end of the chute to which it is attached, andsecuring the collars to the ends of the rods. At least the u-shapedcollar arranged at the upper end of the chute comprises a pair of hooksadapted for attachment to the cement truck.

Additionally, there is provided a method for fabricating a chute fordirecting cement from a cement truck. The method comprises forming asubstantially flat chute blank from UHMWPe, the chute blank having afirst edge opposite a second edge, bending the chute blank about an axisbetween the first edge and the second edge to form an elongate chutehaving an open top, a closed bottom and a u-shaped cross section, andattaching a pair of u-shaped collars manufactured from a rigid durablematerial to respective ends of the elongate chute, each of the collarshaving a curvature configured to match that of the end of the chute towhich it is attached.

Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention willbecome more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictivedescription of specific embodiments thereof, given by way of exampleonly with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a raised right perspective view of a chute assembly inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a raised right exploded view of a chute assembly in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 provides a raised front view of a blank for preparing a chute inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B provide end plan views of respectively the upper andlower ends of a chute assembly in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a partial side plan view of a pair of joined chute assemblies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, and in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention, a chute assembly for a cementtruck, generally referred to using the reference numeral 10, will now bedescribed. The chute 10 comprises a tapered elongate chute 12 ofgenerally u-shaped cross section, a pair of u-shaped collars comprisingan upper collar 14 adjacent an upper end 16 of the elongate chute 12 anda lower collar 18 adjacent a lower end 20 of the elongate chute 12.

Referring to FIG. 2, the collars 14, 18 are secured to their respectiveends 16, 20 of the chute 12 via a plurality of rods as in 22 which, aswill be discussed below may be imbedded in the material used tofabricate the chute 12 during manufacture. The collars 14, 18 and therods 22 are manufactured from a rigid durable material such as cast ormachined aluminium, steel, a composite comprising carbon fibre, or thelike, although in a particular embodiment the collars 14, 18 aremanufactured from a first material, such as machined aluminium while therods 22 are manufactured from a second material such as stainless steel.The collars 14, 18 comprise rod end receiving bores 23 into which theends of the rods 22 are inserted and then secured using fasteners 24such as bolts or the like which engage corresponding threaded bores asin 26 provided in each end of the rods 22. The rods 22 areillustratively of a non-circular hexagonal cross section such that theirrotation is prevented when imbedded in the material of the chute 12.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the upper collar 14 comprises a pair of hooksas in 28 at each end of the upper collar 14 for engaging with posts orother protuberances typically found of the outlet chute of a cementtruck (all not shown) thereby removeably securing the chute 10 to thetruck during operation. The lower collar 18 comprises a pair ofprotuberances as in 30 at each end of the lower collar 18 for engaging,for example, the hooks as in 28 of additional chute assemblies 10.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the chute 12 may comprise a plurality ofreinforcing ribs as in 32 for providing additional rigidity.Additionally, a series of raised tabs as in 34 are arranged towards alower end 20 of the chute 12 which but against an inner surface 36 ofthe lower collar 18 when the chute assembled 10 is assembled.

Referring to FIG. 3 in addition to FIG. 1, the chute assembly 10 isillustratively manufactured from a relatively flat chute blank 38 whichis then bent to form the chute 12 and fit the collars 14, 18. The chuteblank 38 is manufactured from Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene(UHMWPe).

UHMWPe is a type of the thermoplastic polyethylene having extremely longchains with a molecular mass usually between 2 and 6 million u. Thelonger chain serves to more effectively transfer load to the polymerbackbone by strengthening intermolecular interactions. This results in avery tough material, with the highest impact strength of anythermoplastic presently made. UHMWPE is odorless, tasteless, andnontoxic. UHMWPe is highly resistant to corrosive chemicals, extremelylow moisture absorption and a very low coefficient of friction. UHMWPeis self-lubricating and is highly resistant to abrasion, in some formsbeing 15 times more resistant to abrasion than carbon steel. Itscoefficient of friction is significantly lower than that of nylon andacetal, and is comparable to that of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE,Teflon), but UHMWPe has better abrasion resistance than PTFE.

Although the chute 12 can be manufactured, for example, by machining aflat piece of UHMWPe, it is preferable to manufacture the chute viamoulding. In this regard, a UHMWPe powder is placed in a mould (notshown) together with the rods 22 positioned appropriately, the mouldclosed and then heat applied to melt the UHMWPe (typically above about136° C.) and fill the mould while encasing the rods in UHMWPe(illustratively with the exception of the threaded bores 26 and the endsof the rods as in 22). Features such as the reinforcing ribs 32 and theraised tabs 34 are included in the mould. Additional features can alsobe moulded into the blank 38, such as a pair of chute lips 40 or thelike. Once the mould has cooled sufficiently, the blank 38 is removedfrom the mould and, typically while still warm, gently curved to fit theupper collar 14 and lower collar 18 following which the rods 22 areinserted into the rod end receiving bores 23 and secured to the collars14, 18 using the fasteners 24.

Still referring to FIG. 3 in addition to FIG. 1 UHMWPe, althoughnaturally white in colour, can be coloured with pigments for a givenimplementation. One advantage of UHMWPe in this regard is that thepigment is uniform throughout the UHMWPe, such that as the surface ofthe UHMWPe is abraded, the chosen colouring is maintained. Additionally,the mould can be easily machined to include other relief features suchas contouring or company names or the like moulded, for example, intothe side of the chute 12.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B in addition to FIGS. 3 and 1, the upper end16 of the chute blank 38 is illustratively wider than the lower end 20of the chute blank 38 such that when the chute blank 38 is curved to fitthe form of the collars 14, 18, the radius of curvature of the lower end20 is less than the radius of curvature of the upper end 16. In thisregard, the underside 42 of the upper edge 16 rests against an innersurface of the upper collar 14 while, through provision of the tabs asin 34, the underside 43 of the lower edge is prevented from restingagainst an inner surface of the lower collar 18. Additionally, while theupper edge 16 of the chute 12 is flush with an outer edge of the uppercollar 14, the lower edge 20 of the chute 12 extends beyond the lowercollar 18 thereby forming a lip 44.

Referring to FIG. 5, provision of a smaller radius of curvature and alip 44 for the lower edge 20 of the chute 12 allows multiple chuteassemblies as in 10 to be arranged together by over lapping the loweredge 20 of a first chute assembly 10 a with the upper edge 16 of asecond chute assembly 10 b as shown while engaging the hooks 28 with theprotuberances 30. As will now be apparent to a person of skill in theart, consecutive chute assemblies as 10 can be joined with one anotherby connecting the hooks 28 and protuberances 30 as a hinge and thenpivoting the assemblies relative to one another such that the upper edge18 of the second chute assembly 10 b butts against the lower edge 20 ofthe first chute 10 a assembly. When assembled, the lip 44 of the firstchute assembly 10 a provides a seal against the inside of chute 12 ofthe second chute assembly 10 b thereby preventing cement and the likefrom escaping as well as ensuring that the hooks 28 remain well securedto the protuberances 30.

Referring back to FIG. 3, as the chute blank 38 is broader at the upperend 16 than at the lower end 20, the outer pair of rods as in 22 arearranged to diverge slightly towards the lower end 20 yet generallyalong the length of the chute 12 when assembled. The middle rod as in 22is arranged in parallel to the length of the chute 12.

Although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way ofspecific embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing fromthe spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for fabricating a chute for directingcement from a cement truck comprising: placing a plurality ofreinforcing rods generally in parallel in a mould with a powderedUHMWPe, wherein each end of said rods is adjacent a respective edge ofsaid mould; closing the mould and heating said UHMWPe until said UHMWPeis molten; removing said UHMWPe and reinforcing rods from the mould oncesaid UHMWPe has solidified; arranging a u shaped collar at each end ofsaid chute, each of said collars having a curvature configured to matchthat of the end of the chute to which it is attached; and securing saidcollars to the ends of said rods; wherein at least said u-shaped collararranged at said upper end of said chute comprises a pair of hooksadapted for attachment to the cement truck.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said placing comprises three of said reinforcing rods.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein heating said UHMWPe comprises heating saidmould.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said reinforcing rods areplaced in said mould lying in the same plane.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising cooling said UHMWPe until said UHMWPe has solidified.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising bending said solidifiedUHMWPe to form an elongate chute having an axis in parallel with saidplurality of rods following said removing.
 7. A method for fabricating achute for directing cement from a cement truck comprising: forming asubstantially flat chute blank from UHMWPe, said chute blank having afirst edge opposite a second edge; bending said chute blank about anaxis between said first edge and said second edge to form an elongatechute having an open top, a closed bottom and a u-shaped cross section;and attaching a pair of u-shaped collars manufactured from a rigiddurable material to respective ends of said elongate chute, each of saidcollars having a curvature configured to match that of the end of thechute to which it is attached.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein saidforming comprises: placing a plurality of reinforcing rods generally inparallel and lying in the same plane in a mould with a powdered UHMWPe,wherein each end of said rods is adjacent a respective edge of saidmould; closing the mould and applying heat and pressure to the moulduntil said UHMWPe is molten; and removing cooling said UHMWPe from saidmould when said UHMWPe has solidified.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinsaid attaching comprises securing said collars to the ends of said rods;